The present invention concerns ski carriers and, more particularly, a ski carrier that can be alternatively transported manually and by vehicle through mounting thereon.
To enjoy a day of skiing, most skiers must travel to a skiing facility and must transport their skis from their home or lodging to the skiing facility. Many skiers travel to the skiing facility by automobile and must therefore have a ski carrier capable of carrying skis on the automobile. Once at the skiing facility, parking is often a substantial distance from the ski slopes. Therefore, there is a need for a ski carrier that permits the manual carrying of skis from the automobile to the slopes. In addition, automobile travel to a skiing facility is often preceded by an airplane flight which imposes varied demands on a ski carrier both for carrying and as baggage.
A number of types of vehicle-mounted ski carriers are available for transporting skis. In addition, a number of types of ski carriers are available for manually transporting skis. However, a ski carrier convenient for vehicle-mounting is often inconvenient as a manual ski carrier.
A typical ski carrier is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,759 to Wnek. This ski carrier, as with many other vehicle-mounted ski carriers, requires a relatively permanently mounted bracket on the vehicle. Vacationing skiers, not uncommonly, rent an automobile on which they wish to carry skis. Therefore, having a ski carrier which can be mounted on an automobile without the use of any complicated or relatively permanent additional mounting devices is much desired.
Many vehicle mounted ski carriers expose skis to rain, wind, salt and object impacts due to following cars, causing damage to the skis. Hence, there is a substantial advantage in having a ski carrier that completely encloses and thus protects the skis. Particularly of further advantage, enclosing with a relatively rigid structure obviates the need to individually wrap skis to prevent edge damage during baggage handling during the course of airplane travel. Also, a ski carrier should be designed such that it cannot open accidentally, resulting in a pile of skis and poles on the ground or, worse yet, on the road. Further, the carrier should be lockable to secure the skis to a significant extent against theft.